The Russian and Syrian air forces continue to bomb militant targets across Hama and Idlib provinces, as Damascus gears up for its offensive against the last major rebel stronghold in the war-torn-country. Among those joining the Syrian military to reclaim the northwestern territory are thousands of displaced Syrian residents of Idlib province, whom were forced out of their homes, when extreme Muslim groups asserted their control over the region, including the most powerful militia controlling the northwestern province, Haya’at Tahrir al-Sham, a Salafist jihadist group linked with Al-Qaeda. That said, Syria’s northern neighbor Turkey, which has influence on the Islamist groups in Idlib, managed to convince Moscow to postpone the anticipated battle. According to an Ankara official, Turkey is concerned by a new influx of refugees that would try to cross the border into its territory, demanding a creative solution that will thwart – what the official termed – “a humanitarian catastrophe.” To that end, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met yesterday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. During their meeting, which was held in the Russian resort city of Sochi, the two leaders agreed to enforce a new “de-militarized zone” between the Islamist militants and government forces in Syria’s Idlib province, a move both leaders said, “will give a new momentum to the process of politically resolving the Syria conflict.” Putin stated that “During the meeting we took a close look at the situation and decided to create a de-militarized zone along the contact line of Syrian government forces and armed opposition 15-20 kilometers deep by the 15th of October of the current year. Radically-minded rebels to be pulled out of this zone, including Nusra Front.” / “We both agree that implementation of the planned steps will give a new momentum to the process of political resolving of the Syrian conflict, allow to intensify works on Geneva platform and will contribute to peace returning to the Syrian soil. Overall the authority of the Syrian Arabic Republic supports this approach. Soon we will conduct further consultations with the Syrian leadership.” Despite the fact that the majority of rebel groups operating in the Idlib Province are linked to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda, Turkish President Erdogan claimed that the major threat posed to Syria are rather the Kurdish militias backed by the United States led coalition, including the YPG and PYD. According to him, “The real element that poses a threat against Syria’s territorial integrity and Turkey’s national unity is YPG / PYD. The massacres and ethnic cleansing carried out by this group in the east of Euphrates is self-evident. The biggest threat against Syria’s future stems from the terror nests in the east of Euphrates rather than Idlib.”
